Not Applicable.
Not Applicable.
1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the field of devices for throwing softballs, baseballs and balls of the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Ball throwing devices are used for batting practice to avoid overworking the arms of pitchers. Ball throwing devices are also far more consistent once set up to throw a particular pitch than a human pitcher. Different versions of ball throwing devices have been developed over the years. Typical of the art are those devices disclosed in the following U.S. Patents:
Re. 30,703 is a reissue of U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,950 and discloses a ball throwing device which includes a motor with an axle to which a tire is mounted. The device further includes a ball feeder assembly for directing the ball against the rotating tire. The speed of rotation of the tire and the ball feeder assembly are adjustable to control the height and speed of the thrown ball. A drawback with this device is that, once the device is set up, the batter gets into a xe2x80x9cgroove,xe2x80x9d where he can expect the same pitch at the same height and speed. Although the speed at which the ball is thrown is adjustable, it can take several minutes to make these adjustments. More specifically, the ball feeder assembly must also be adjusted when the speed of rotation of the tire is increased or decreased.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,918 discloses a ball throwing device specifically designed for throwing table tennis balls or tennis balls. The device includes two pairs of rollers through which balls are thrown. The rotation of each roller is independently controlled via a motor. The device is not designed to project balls over a plate, it is designed to throw balls such that they bounce. Further, the device includes four motors which can be unwieldy when trying to set up the throwing device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,722,384 discloses a multidirectional ball throwing system which includes three input tubes which correlate to three output tubes. The output tubes are positioned such that balls are propelled in three different directions at the same speed. This ball throwing system would be of no value for use during batting practice. The balls need to be thrown over the plate in the strike zone for effective baseball and softball batting practice.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a portable ball throwing device which is intended for use during batting practice and is capable of throwing softballs, baseballs, and balls of the into a hitting zone.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a ball throwing device which provides a choice of speeds at which a ball can be pitched without having to adjust the device in any way.
Other objects and advantages will be accomplished by the present invention which provides a ball throwing device capable of throwing or pitching balls at more than one speed without having to readjust the device. The ball throwing device generally includes a base, a motor and at least two ball throwing assemblies. The motor is supported on the base and includes a mounting flange, a drive motor and an output shaft driven to rotate by the drive motor. The output shaft includes at least two tire flanges carried thereon. Each of the ball throwing assemblies includes a feeder assembly and a wheel. Each wheel defines a ball gripping surface and is mounted to a tire flange. Each wheel defines a different diameter. Each feeder assembly is supported proximate the ball gripping surface of one of the wheels to guide the ball to be thrown against it. The feeder assemblies are supported via the mounting flange.